As co-founder and senior vice president of design for the luxury fittings brand Waterworks, Barbara Sallick is responsible for some of the most beautiful faucets in the business. For her latest book, The Perfect Kitchen, she studied hundreds of photos from top designers to pinpoint that quality that makes a kitchen design resonate. She found that the best cookspaces arent the ones with an enviable range or a massive pantry; theyre the ones that feel the most personal. Here, Sallick talks about how to bring more character to this hardworking room.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: What should you keep in mind when planning your dream kitchen?

A: A good design needs to hit the mark visually, emotionally and functionally. Unless you take the time to put it all together and make it truly personal, its never going to live up to your expectations.

Q: If you know exactly what you want, should you work with a general contractor, or do you need to hire a kitchen designer?

A: Its tough to achieve the results youre dreaming of unless you hire a pro. Contractors have a lot of practical experience, but an interior designer will make you think about what you want in a way that a contractor might not. Its a designers job to ask questions about your lifestyle, family and preferences. The benefit to a kitchen designer is that they know how to draw plans to within an eighth of an inch of their life. The most important thing is to have a conversation with someone who truly understands interiors.

Q: How has kitchen design changed over the years?

A: After looking at about 700 kitchens for this book project, I realized I barely saw any that didnt have an island. I think the work triangle has evolved into the racetrack oval because you are no longer in a direct line from the sink to the refrigerator to the oven and back again. The popularity of the island has truly changed the way traffic patterns work in the kitchen.

Q: Lets talk money: High-end appliances or custom cabinets can be budget-busters. If you have one splurge in the kitchen, where should it be?

A: Hardware can be transformative. There are so many options for knobs and pulls; having beautiful hardware is like putting on your favorite piece of jewelry. You can change the feel of your kitchen from something that is rather ordinary to something very special.

Q: But most people probably choose hardware at the end of the process, almost as an afterthought.

A: Exactly, and thats the problem. I think the second you choose your door style, you need to think about the hardware. It can be a significant investment, but it offers the biggest bang for your buck.

Q: You must have a lot of opinions about faucets. What should people look for?

A: Clearly, you want to love how it looks and how it feels in your hand. Turning on the faucet is a humanistic, tactile thing. If the parts arent great, it can feel like it jerks in place when you turn the lever. You want a kitchen faucet that works so intuitively that you never have to think about which way the handle turns. Then ask if the scale is right for the size of the sink. Make sure the faucet or fitting that you choose is big enough to swing from one sink to another. If its a gooseneck, it should be tall enough that it wont hit your pots every time you clean them.

Q: You could spend $60 or $6,000 on a faucet. Why is there such a wide range of pricing, besides the obvious variations in finishes and design quality?

A: Its hard to know whats happening inside a faucet unless you slice it in half, so it helps to have questions ready when you go shopping. Ask where the valve is made and how you can get replacement parts. Above all, you want to make sure that your faucet is made of high-quality brass. You dont want plastic parts inside your faucet. My advice is to always buy the best-quality kitchen faucet you can afford. Its used hundreds of times a week by various members of your family, and it needs to last a long time.

Q: What should homeowners look for when choosing a kitchen sink?

A: Consider the size and depth. Think of your biggest pot: Is it a lobster stockpot? Then youll need a fairly deep sink. If youre going with stainless steel, look at the quality. Twenty-gauge stainless steel makes a lot of noise because its very thin. Sixteen-gauge stainless steel is quieter because it has a backing that muffles the noise from the water. Its also stronger and doesnt dent as easily over time.

Q: Is there a particular finish thats better at hiding fingerprints?

A: I have a matte nickel finish, and its really easy to care for. Generally, any finish thats shiny, such as chrome, needs to be wiped down regularly. All water has some minerals; once the minerals get on the faucet, they interact with the finish, and you get spots. If you have a nickel finish, you can apply a coat of carnauba car wax, which puts a light coating over the finish and maintains it for a longer period of time. Doing so every six months, or even once a year, helps.

Q: What factors should homeowners consider when choosing a cabinet style?

A: Your cabinet style should have some relationship to the period of your house. If you are someone who has a traditional-style home, youre going to want some kind of paneled door that nods to that, but the same kind of door might look silly in a more modern house. Thinking about the era of your home, even the style of your furniture, ensures that the cabinetry doesnt become this jarring element that looks like it landed in your kitchen out of nowhere.

Q: How do you feel about the darker trend for cabinet colors?

A: All-white kitchens have had their moment and then some, so I love the idea that kitchens can be moody and dramatic. Also, its hard to distinguish one white kitchen from another. Once you introduce a color, it begins to feel much more personal.

Q: Any guidelines for coordinating the countertop with the cabinets?

A: Cabinets always have tops and bottoms, and the counter is the connector. The process of layering both the countertop and backsplash, which can be two completely different materials (and I often prefer them to be), is all about the way they talk to each other. It doesnt matter if the countertop is an active marble or the backsplash is a tile with a crackle glaze. They should have a connection and a conversation with each other.

Q: Colorful encaustic-style tiles have been popular for a while. Is there a downside to going so bold with pattern?

A: If you love pattern and you want to bring multiple colors into your kitchen design, have at it. Personally, I love pattern, but I like it on someone else or in their kitchen. Your kitchen is a long-term investment, and there are ways of injecting pattern that are far less permanent. For instance, you can wallpaper a small corner of a breakfast nook.

Q: How do you hope this book will help people?

A: There are enough kitchen styles, materials and ideas represented that if you are thinking about remodeling, the images in the book might help to cement your vision. Theres even a bright red kitchen from Bunny Williams. If youve ever entertained the idea of having a red kitchen, I hope this book gives you the confidence to go for it.

Original post:
The recipe for a perfect kitchen (hint: It doesn't have to be all white) - Seattle Times

You may be wondering, How much is it going to cost me to remodel my house? First, it's important to understand that nowadays, most people use the terms remodel and renovate interchangeably. Here are clear definitions of what each term means:

As you can see, there is a difference between these two terms. Basically, remodeling refers to creating something new while renovating refers to restoring something to its previous state.

Now that you have a pretty good understanding of the difference between the two terms, here are four things to take into consideration when figuring out how much it is going to cost to remodel your home.

It's important to understand why you are wanting to do work on your home. For some people, a house they're thinking of buying may be ideally located but, unfortunately, outdated. In this instance, it may be better to get the home for cheap and remodel the home to your liking once you own the home.

Some people already own the home and are at a place where they need to fix certain safety issues so that they may continue to live there comfortably. Unfortunate events such as foundation issues, roof leaks, or a pipe bursting in the kitchen can speed up the timeline on tackling certain projects around the home.

Others are at a point where they need to sell their home. Your Realtor may have told you it would be best to do certain updates to maximize the value you would be able to sell your house at, so now you are on the hunt to find which upgraded areas of your home would give you the best return on investment.

Now that you have an understanding of the reason you are wanting to do a remodel, now it's time to outline what you want to accomplish.

You should first prioritize any major items that need to be fixed. You don't want to put a bandage on work that should be resolved by fixing the root of the problem. An example would be if you notice there is mold on the ceiling. The bandage would be to replace the wallboard where the mold is and call it a day. What you really should do is identify and repair the source of the mold (e.g., a leaky pipe or poor bathroom ventilation) so the issue won't arise again.

Make sure you have a list of everything you want to tackle during this remodel. This will help you separate everything you think needs to be done from what really has to be done. This method will also help when it comes to budgeting the cost of the total project.

The most common areas of a home that people are looking to improve are the:

Broken down even further, the most common types of improvements are:

There are a few ways you might choose to tackle your remodel. Ask yourself these questions to determine which way you should go:

No matter how you're planning on going about it, it might be a good idea to have people come in and present quotes for how much certain types of projects would cost.

When vetting a subcontractor, look at past remodeling products, make sure they are licensed and insured, understand what all is included in their quote, and last but not least, find out how long it will take them to complete the job.

As always, the answer is "It depends." It depends on the square footage of the home and whether you're adding more square footage, the type of quality the remodel will be, and the type of permitting required by the city, especially if you own a home that is considered historic, and whether you will be doing a complete renovation of the entire building or just redoing the kitchen.

Regardless of the plan, you are going to want to have prepared a budget. Be sure to add contingency on top of that, because things never go as planned.

You can break down your remodel project by room to get an average cost range. Here is a helpful starting point from HomeAdvisor (NASDAQ: ANGI):

Follow this link:
How to Determine the Cost to Remodel a House - Motley Fool

As more and more events continue to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic precautions, the Hiawatha Parks and Recreation Director is throwing some fun out-of-the-box activities out there for residents to take part in.

HP&R Director Stacy Jasper said the current emergency and cancellation of all recreational events is something that is challenging for her after a decade or more of planning activities for communities here in Hiawatha and at her previous position for the City of Colby.

She had already launched into her plans for summer recreation teeball, aquatic park, employment applications for concession and pool workers along with already being knee-deep in hiring a new grounds staff member and getting underway with plans to ready the softball and baseball fields for spring school athletic events.

Then it hit the fan, so-to-speak. The COVID-19 pandemic wasnt just a concern for people in China and Italy. The coronavirus had hit the United States and was hitting hard. Suddenly, March Madness was gone, colleges and public schools were closing and the nation was in a state of emergency.

The City of Hiawatha joined other municipalities in immediately implementing COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines closing the Fisher Center and City Hall to the public. This also included cancelling any and all recreation activities planned for the spring.

This really was nothing I had ever dealt with in all my years in recreation and I admit it was challenging to try and come up with ideas for the community to do and stay in line with social distancing guidelines, Jasper said.

According to the Center for Disease Control, people are encouraged to practice social distancing by staying 6 feet away from other people when engaging in an activity. On top of that, the governor issued a stay at home order for Kansans to adhere to advising to not leave the house unless it was for an essential need.

Among the governors list of essential needs was outdoor exercise but participants still needed to adhere to social distancing guidelines. In addition, gyms are closed, city parks are closed so what is there to do?

Take it to the driveway or the living room or the kitchen!

Those are just a few of the places that Jasper has included in her many stay-at-home challenges for the HP&R public in Hiawatha.

Jasper said she has participated in some online Zoom meetings with other parks and rec directors across the state and over a couple hours the directors brainstormed about ways to keep their public active and engaged during the stay at home order which for now remains in effect until April 19.

So right now, Jasper has 13 challenges on her HP&R Facebook page including HP&R Homework, which offers a daily activity. Among the other activities are pet tricks, chalk art, a driveway trick shot (such as a crazy basketball shot one person rode a horse up to make a basket), bit-moji fun, a driveway workout and her latest peepthis and eggstravaganza, which focuses some fun crafties with the favorite marshmallow peeps and decorated eggs just in time for Easter.

I am not encouraging people to go out and do these things with friends but do them with your siblings and family members at home, she said.

The HP&R community has embraced these many challenges and by submitting a video and tagging the HP&R hash tag, the videos and photos are now on social media for the communitys enjoyment.

The HP&R Homework advises a special activity each day of the week: Super Sunday, Make it Monday, Take a Trip Tuesday, Watch It Wednesday, think It Thursday, Foodie Friday and Selfless Saturday.

Jasper said creating these activities really has stretched her creativity and out-of-the-box thinking in trying to keep the community active and entertained focused on more positive activities rather than the doom and gloom of thinking of a global pandemic.

I really feel as essential as I ever have, as I want to provide a positive approach to this. Its been so much fun to see what people come up with, she said. I also feel its really important at a time like this. There is so much uncertainty, and so many emotions people are feeling. I am trying to help take away the fear and anxiety by creating fun activities.

Jaspers goal is to continue offering activities weekly, by hitting on fitness, sports, education, family and art. She said these are also events that she can continue in the future, when the COVID-19 pandemic is over and people are back to ordinary activities, but are also looking for something extra fun to do.

In the meantime, her staff has been keeping very busy with a Fisher Center kitchen remodel that they initially tried to bid out, but at the time contractors were too busy to take on the task within the time frame the city had hoped. But once the stay at home orders went into place, and Jasper and her staff found a little extra time on their hands, they have been knee-deep in kitchen remodeling themselves.

Are they still preparing for summer activities? Yes and no, she said.

Some things are obviously on hold. Jasper said she stopped taking teeball applications, because doesnt want to be in a position to have to make a lot of refunds if it doesnt happen. She had accepted applications for summer work, but had to cancel interviews twice. She plans to possibly set up Facetime or Zoom interviews, but doesnt have a timeline yet.

She said there is no magic date as to when they will know whether summer recreation will be happening. She said her staff is doing some preparations, but some things are on hold.

There is just so much unknown right now, she said.

The current stay at home order lasts until April 19, but even if that is lifted there could be other guidelines that stay in place such as social distancing. Its hard to play on a baseball or softball team, or hang out at the pool, and keep that social distance in place.

We are on the tip of saving summer or canceling summer thats a big weight on our shoulders, she said, noting that she doesnt know when final decisions will be made. But, of course, those decisions will be made for us, based on what the state decides.

Jasper said it typically takes about a month and a half to prepare for summer rec activities and once the restrictions lift she and her staff may have to do it within a week or two, but she will do what she have to! She is hopeful that, at the very least, there will be only a late start to activities or a shortened season.

Keep your eye on the Hiawatha Parks and Recreation Facebook page to keep track of all of the fun events she has going on and for upcoming information about summer recreation.

Read the original post:
Out of the box ways to take part in recreation - Hiawatha World

Ashes of Outland has officially been released, giving Hearthstone players a much needed card injection to Azeroth's CCG. With their Year of the Phoenix rotating out three of the game's most problematic expansions, now was a perfect time to get the meta just right and create a fun and engaging meta. Though it's still very early in the life cycle of the meta, it's starting to feel like the newly released Demon Hunter might be a bit overpowered. With a massive amount of card draw, board removal and powerful minions, Illidan seems to be on top of the competition. That doesn't mean other classes don't stand a chance, with Mage and Hunter both having seemingly viable archetypes.

Starting us off, here are two of the most consistently powerful Demon Hunter decks I've had the misfortune to pilot. Hearthstone pro Muzzy climbed to the top of Legend on launch day with this Demon Hunter build, utilizing the consistent power of the Demon draw engine. Though it might not be as flashy as the other option, it only uses the most consistent cards in the class.

But if you are looking for something with a bit more flair, then this Demon Hunter deck is perfect for you. Kael'thas Sunstrider with Twin Slices and zero cost Eye Beams allows you to play Inner Demon and Skull of Gul'dan for no cost. If you don't draw your combo, games against aggro decks can be a bit harder to win, but that doesn't make it any less powerful.

2x (0) Twin Slice

1x (1) Consume Magic

2x (2) Chaos Strike

2x (2) Immolation Aura

2x (2) Spectral Sight

2x (3) Aldrachi Warblades

1x (3) Altruis the Outcast

2x (3) Eye Beam

1x (4) Kayn Sunfury

1x (4) Maiev Shadowsong

2x (5) Chaos Nova

2x (5) Imprisoned Antaen

1x (5) Metamorphosis

2x (5) Skull of Gul'dan

2x (5) Wrathspike Brute

1x (6) Kael'thas Sunstrider

2x (7) Priestess of Fury

2x (8) Inner Demon

Deck code:

AAECAea5AwauugPMugPDvAPtvgPaxgPUyAMMh7oDyboD17sD4LwD98MDx8YD2cYD1cgD18gD2dMD29MD3dMDAA==

If Demon Hunter spam isn't for you, try this Hunter list. Utilizing the big bad Beasts introduced in this set, Rexxar honestly has some serious bite. Scavenger's Ingenuity is a god-send for Beast Hunter, who can draw a massive Augmented Porcupine that can be played on turn three. If the Beast stays around, dropping a Mok'Nathal Lion next turn deals even more damage. It isn't the best deck against control that can clear your minions with ease, but that shouldn't stop you from testing it out. This one can also be built on a budget by replacing Octosaru and Beastmaster Leoroxx with Freeze Trap or Deadly Shot.

2x (1) Helboar

2x (1) Tracking

2x (2) Fresh Scent

2x (2) Scavenger's Ingenuity

2x (3) Animal Companion

2x (3) Augmented Porcupine

2x (3) Diving Gryphon

2x (3) Kill Command

1x (3) Zixor, Apex Predator

2x (4) Escaped Manasaber

2x (4) Mok'Nathal Lion

2x (4) Scrap Shot

2x (5) Tundra Rhino

2x (6) Savannah Highmane

1x (8) Beastmaster Leoroxx

1x (8) Octosari

1x (10) Nagrand Slam

Deck code:

AAECAZ/DAwSDpwODuQO2uwP7uwMNqAK1A7sFlwjtCY6tA4O2A4S2A864A6O5A/a6A/m6A/+6AwA=

One of the most powerful and consistent decks in this expansion has to be Spell Mage. Using Raid the Sky Temple to build up your hand, combined with Font of Power and Learn Draconic, there are very few decks that can keep up. Deep Freeze is amazing Demon Hunter, but be prepared to see archetypes pop up solely to beat Reno and his Mage friends.

2x (1) Font of Power

2x (1) Learn Draconic

2x (1) Magic Trick

1x (1) Raid the Sky Temple

2x (1) Ray of Frost

2x (2) Ancient Mysteries

2x (2) Frostbolt

2x (2) Incanter's Flow

2x (3) Arcane Intellect

2x (3) Flame Ward

2x (3) Netherwind Portal

1x (4) Conjurer's Calling

2x (4) Fireball

2x (5) Apexis Blast

1x (5) Rolling Fireball

2x (8) Deep Freeze

1x (10) The Amazing Reno

Deck Code:

AAECAc2xAgSDlgO5pQPsrwOMtgMNuwKrBJYFn5sD/50Dv6QD9KsD8a8DwbgDwrgDjLkDgb8D3sQDAA==

Which of these decks is your favorite? Tell us in the comments.

Originally posted here:
'Hearthstone' Ashes of Outland Best Decks: Bow Down to Demon Hunter - Newsweek

Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Hearthstones Ashes of Outland expansion is finally here. That means its time for everyone to get their chance to play as Malfurions emo brother, Illidan Stormrage.

Illidan joined Hearthstone today as the games first additional class, the Demon Hunter. To unlock the Demon Hunter class, youll need to play through Illidans Prologue in the story mode. This miniature story introduces you to Illidan Stormrage and familiarizes you with the mechanics of the Demon Hunter class.

The Demon Hunters Hero Power is called Demon Claws. This Hero Power costs one mana and allows you to gain +1 attack for a single turn. As you play the Demon Hunter throughout the prologue, youll come to realize how much of Illidans kit relies on pumping up your attack. Cards like Chaos Strike allow you to increase your attack while simultaneously drawing. There are also cards that deal damage based on your attack total.

Demon Hunter makes use of the games new Outcast mechanic, too. Cards with Outcast have a special effect if you play them from the edge of your hand. This introduces a sort of mini-game for the Demon Hunter player where youll need to decide whether playing a card youve just drawn for its Outcast value is better than your original plan.

Here are some of the Demon Hunter decks you should try on the first day on Hearthstones latest expansion. These Demon Hunter decks were gathered from a plethora of reliable players and sources, all of which will be credited below. But remember, this is the first day of the expansion, so its important to craft with caution.

Copy this code to use the deck in Hearthstone: AAECAea5AwTMugPDvAPtvgPaxgMNh7oDi7oDyboD17sD4LwDusYDx8YD2cYD18gD98gD/MgD/sgD/8gDAA==

Copy this code to use this deck in Hearthstone: AAECAQce/KMDhKcDkbEDh7oDi7oDyboDzLoDnLwDw7wD4LwDjb0D1r4D5r4D7b4DhMMD98MDusYDvMYDx8YD2cYD2sYD1MgD1cgD18gD98gD/8gDnMkD2dMD29MD3dMDAAA=

Copy this code to use this deck in Hearthstone: AAECAea5AwauugPMugPDvAPtvgPaxgPUyAMMh7oDyboD17sD4LwD98MDx8YD2cYD1cgD18gD2dMD29MD3dMDAA==

Read more from the original source:
Demon Hunter decks to try on day one of Hearthstone's new expansion, Ashes of Outland - Dot Esports

Local DJ lifts spirits during stay-at-home orders

By The Wave | on April 09, 2020

On April 1, the sun was shining warmly in Broad Channel as the dampness of a few days of heavy rain began to burn off. Unfortunately, due to government-directed stay at home orders, few were outside to enjoy the spring morning.

DJ Paddy Tubz is here for the partyAt exactly 9:00 am that morning, a Facebook post was launched by Broad Channel native known as DJ Paddy Tubz. The post read Ill be DJing off my back deck, from 6 pm 8:30 pm on Thursday.. It will be an evening of fun, sing-alongs and dance grooves.

DJ Paddy Tubz giving a shout out during his back deck party

Hundreds of Facebook likes/loves, shares, and comments later, it was apparent the little island of Broad Channel was in need of a good party and Paddy Tubz was just the right DJ to deliver the tunes.

The next day, albeit a bit chillier and windier, Tubz stayed true to his promise, setting up his gear on the deck of his home located on West 11th Road in BC.

At 6:30, the veteran DJ fired up a FB Live from The CoronaVirus Quarantine Virtual Bar a page created by locals to kick off virtual happy hours, display musical talent, and provide a place for a few light-hearted laughs during these strange times.

Donning his best pirate costume the perfect attire for an outdoor Coronacation party Tubz began spinning tunes and entertaining the crowds.

DJ Paddy Tubz giving a shout out during his back deck party.

Hundreds watched online, while Tubzs local canal block neighbors camped out on their adjacent decks with cocktails in hand to take in the performance. Both audiences took selfies of themselves and their families watching the spectacle and posted those pictures on social media.

As the sun went down, the winds were gusting, but Tubz continued to play with his neighbors cheering him on, singing along and some were even dancing on their decks. Friend and neighbor, Ruth Truden-Nocerino shared her enthusiasm and appreciation for Tubz on Facebook by posting For those that dont live in BC the wind was whipping off the bay and he still killed it!

Read more:
BC Back Deck DJ Party - Wave of Long Island

Petaluma-native Kary Hess new endeavor, the SparkTarot deck, could not have come at a better time. As the world seemingly unwinds minute by the minute and navigating the phantasmagoria of coronavirus, climate change and social unrest becomes ever more chaotic amidst the town criers and unhinged madmen, our days are harrowing at best.

Some have asked me if the tarot can predict the outcome of the current pandemic, says Hess, a regular Bohemian contributor known for her community and social-issue-themed features, who is also the life partner of its editor Daedalus Howell. Tarot can show you how you can approach the situation, creating an outcome for you. And as I always say, its not set in stoneif you dont see a desirable outcome, you can always consider what you can do differently now to evoke a different outcome later.

Often dismissed as New Age or occult, the tarot is not as old as one might think. Tarot first appeared as a deck of playing cards in 15th-century Europe, becoming trendier in later centuries when used for divination. The suits associated with contemporary playing cardsspades, clubs, hearts and diamondsvaried significantly by region. The modern tarot includes five suits: triumphs, cups, wands, swords and pentacles. The SparkTarot replaces swords with serpents, and pentacles with stones.

Hess figures are mostly female, and intentionally represent racial diversity, making the deck not only more inclusive but opening up new possibilities for interpretations.

Traditional tarot decks are pretty medieval; white and male oriented, Hess says. I wanted this deck to be diverse and feminine, so most of the cards are women, even those that are traditionally male. That said, there are a couple of potentially male characters in the deck.

Hess has a degree in fine arts and has worked as a website and graphic designer as well as a journalist. She first became interested in creating cards as a child.

Ive always loved card decks, she says. When I was a kid, I made a deck of playing cards with different art than the usual plain hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades. I remember thinking that the simple imagery on the playing card deck was a missed opportunity for art.

Over the years she began creating several tarot decks but never painted more than a few cards each time.

With this one I accidentally tricked myself into creating it, Hess says. My partner and I had just made a feature-length art film and one night we were watching an Agns Varda movie, Clo from 5 to 7, to get inspiration for the next film. The opening sequence was a tarot reading. I said, We need a tarot scene in the next film.

As the films production designer, she very practically decided she only needed to make nine cards for the shot.

After creating the nine cards, I was on a roll, she says. After seven months, Id painted the entire tarot deck, posted the cards on Instagram as I went, wrote a corresponding guidebook and started a business around it.

Hence, the Spark.

Her art supplies all fit into a portable bag, so she was able to paint most of the cards at cafs around the Bay Area.

I painted each card very deliberately and with absolute focus on the meaning behind it, Hess says. I considered older decks, looked at the imagery, decided what the core experience needed to be and began sketching. After one to three sketches, Id have my image. Then I drew it into a watercolor sketchbook and painted it. Id listen to inspiring music or podcasts while painting.

In the conception phase of SparkTarot, Hess sought to create a deck that leaned towards lifes potential and away from ominous foreboding.

The imagery on the SparkTarot deck isnt created to be scary, so it doesnt cause troubling readings visually, which some decks can do, Hess says, addressing doubters and those afraid of what a reading will reveal. As far as the readings themselves, when I read tarot I help guide people to see how they can approach an issue based on their current situation, so they are always in control of how they choose to react.

Hess cards connect phantom threads that stitch together imagery, intention and the latest theories in physics.

The Tarot has long been considered woo-woo or magic, but it might also be a perfect example of the quantum concept of collapse, she writes in her blog. Wave function collapseknown as the Copenhagen interpretationwas discovered by Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg, and is the proposal that all outcomes of a situation exist simultaneouslyalso called superpositionuntil an observer takes action by observing, which then collapses the possibilities into one state or another.

Hess, who radiates a youthful glow in her late 40s, believes learning how to take spiritual guidance into ones own hands is needed now more than ever.

It has been so fulfilling to use my skills of painting, writing and graphic design with a spiritual project that is also really helpful to people looking for their next steps in life, she says.

Hess believes tarot can both deepen and heal ones broken connections to others and the natural world by simply helping them tune into their own process, using imagery with the universe as a guide.

What is great about tarot is that it is a simple, personal way to see your next step, Hess says. Sometimes life can be overwhelming or confusing, and its great to have the path illuminated, even just a little bit.

Hess explains how when one reads tarot, intentions infuse the cards, which informs how their imagery is interpreted. Because the cards represent aspects of life, its as if the universe participates in making sense of themand by extension, ones own life.

Maybe someday science will really explain what seems like magic to us now, Hess says. Malleable time, possibilities manifested with intention. But for now, we have tarot.

And what better way to re-enchant the psychic forest in these trying times, than with a little magic?

To learn more, visit SparkTarot.com.

See original here:
How Tarot Helped This Writer-Artist Find a Brighter Future - North Bay Bohemian

TriStar Skyline Medical Center hosted a "Park and Pray" event to bring people together during the coronavirus outbreak. Nashville Tennessean

Labor and delivery nurse Sarah Kremer thinks it might have been the Holy Spirit.

She feltthis overwhelming urge to invite a few of her colleagues up to the Vanderbilt University Medical Centerflight deck to pray over the Nashville hospital, which is on the front lineof the state's battle against the deadly COVID-19 virus.

"I just couldn't shake the feeling," Kremer said.

OnMonday morning,she bowed her head, clasped her hands and crouched down on the worn markings of a hospital helipad. Four of her coworkers in matchinglight blue scrubs prayed with her as the Nashvilleskyline stretched behind them.

"It was very peaceful," said Kremer, who celebrated her 38th birthdayMonday. "It's one of the few things I feel like we have some control over in the midst of everything that's going on in our world."

From left, Vanderbilt staff members Tanya Dixon, ORT; Beth Tiesler, ORT; Sarah Kremer, RN; Angela Gleaves, RN; and McKenzie Gibson, RN, pray on the hospital's helipad. Kremer asked her group of nursing friends to celebrate her birthday by praying with her.(Photo: Submitted )

Hospitals keepers of the living and the dying have long inspired prayer.

But as the life-threatening pandemic spreads,many of the faithful are focusing more of their appeals to Godon these mighty medical institutions andasking their higher power to protect the people inside who aretrying to heal and survive.

It is an anxious time in the U.S. The novel coronavirus andattempts to slow its spread are upending nearly every facet of Americanlife. The future feels unstableas public health experts and elected officials warn the worst is still to come.

Stay informed: Sign up for the Coronavirus Watch newsletter to get the latest updates.

Manyare looking for light in this time of darkness, including medical professionals who are risking their own health to care for those who are sick from the disease.

"I think a lot of people during stressful times lean on their faith," said Christine Lunger, a 36-year-old nurse andclinical director of critical care servicesat TriStar Skyline Medical Center in Nashville.

"I think there is just a comfort in knowing that there's a higher power with us, supporting us doing what we're doing."

Nurses onteams Lunger oversees started praying togetheras more coronavirus patients came intothe hospital.

After the7 a.m.and 7 p.m. pre-shift meetings,those who want to participate gather in the break room and spend a few minutes asking God for good patient outcomes and giving thanks for their own health, Lungersaid.

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They pray God will protect them so they can continue to serve as many patients as they can for as long as they are needed, she said.

"It's been a good thing for the staff," Lunger said. "It really has a level-setting for the day that God is with us through this."

In an attempt to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, hospitals are severely limiting the number of people who cancome into theirbuildings. This means many patients are in the hospital alone.

Not only are health care workers addressing medical needs, but they are filling in as their patients'de facto family members and taking care of their spiritual needs, too.

Kim Fitzgerald, a nurse at Skyline, prays during a park and pray event at TriStar Skyline Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, April 2, 2020. Participants parked outside of the medical center and prayed at their cars while practicing social distancing. (Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)

That dynamic is what inspired another Skyline nurse, Kim Fitzgerald, to organize the park and pray event held outside the hospital on Thursday evening. Fitzgerald, 47, works in Skyline'sspecial procedures department.

Fitzgerald said she and her colleagues were recently prepping a sweet but scared 76-year-old patient for a procedure.

"She said, 'Will y'all just be my family for the day because my family is not allowed to be here.' She just broke down in tears," Fitzgerald said. "We started crying with her because I work with a bunch of softies here and everybody's like, 'Absolutely, we'll be your family for today.' We just loved on her."

Fitzgerald could not stop thinking about the patient.

Inspired by similar events happening elsewhere and what she believes was a nudge from God, she startedseeking permission and making plans for asocial distancing-friendly prayer event just outside of Skyline.

People want to help. They want to do something right now, something for the greater good, something that's bigger.

Vehicles streamed into the hospital's parking lot Thursday evening. Fitzgerald scheduled the park and pray eventfor 7:14 p.m. a nod to a Bible verse, 2 Chronicles 7:14:

"If my people, who are called by my name,will humblethemselves and pray and seek my faceand turnfrom their wicked ways, then I will hearfrom heaven, and I will forgivetheir sin and will healtheir land."

Together, they prayed and sang while keeping theirdistance.

"People want to help. They want to do something right now, something for the greater good, something that's bigger," said Fitzgerald, in a Thursday interview before the event. "This is something they can do to help to show love to our patients that are here alone to show love to our health care workers."

The Vanderbilt staff who found peace in prayer on the flight deck of the hospital are also inspiring others. A photo of the moment they asked God for comfort and protection for all who are a part of the medical center's community spread quickly on social media.

The positive response they have received totheir vulnerable moment is overwhelming. Kremer, the nurse who organized the prayer over the Nashville hospital, is normally aprivate person, but agreed to share the photo with the thought that it could offer people hope and turn them toward God.

The prayer calmed 46-year-old labor and delivery nurse Angela Gleaves. As a small breeze blew Monday morning,tears started to fall from her eyes.

"I just felt like that wind was God loving us and pushing us forward to go and do what we're supposed to do," Gleaves said. "We just want people to know that we're here, trained to do whatwe're doing and we want them to be as comfortable as possible."

Reach Holly Meyer at hmeyer@tennessean.com or 615-259-8241 and on Twitter @HollyAMeyer.

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Amid COVID-19, why hospital staff are praying on flight decks, before shifts and in parking lots - Tennessean

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This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration ofThe European Stingwith theWorld Economic Forum.

Author: Christopher Alessi, Digital Editor, World Economic Forum

As the world wrestles with the unprecedented implications of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, we are facing a human crisis unlike any we have experienced and our social fabric and cohesion is under stress.

That was the assessment of UN Deputy-Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed during a digital meeting of the Forums COVID Action Platform on 8 April.

Launched last month, the platform aims to convene the business community for collective action to protect peoples livelihoods, facilitate business continuity and mobilize support for the global response to the virus. To date, more than 1,300 companies, organizations and individuals have joined the platform.

In addition to Deputy-Secretary-General Mohammed, participants on this weeks digital meeting included Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank and Member of the Forums Board of Trustees; Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust; Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America and Chair of the World Economic Forums International Business Council; and Andr Hoffmann, Vice Chairman of Roche and Member of the Forums Board of Trustees.

Here are some of the key quotes from the call:

On the economic impact of the crisis:

We have moved to a recession that will be worse than the one we experienced in 2008, said Mohammed.

Given the nature of the crisis, all hands should be on deck, all available tools should be used, said Lagarde. We are providing support, as attractively as we can, so that from the household to the large big corporate account, all economic players can access financing through their banks, she added.

Moynihan noted: As a result of central bank actions across the globe, markets have been flooded with liquidity that has been able to stabilize markets to a certain degree across the board.

Image: World Economic Forum

What is the World Economic Forum doing about the coronavirus outbreak?

A new strain of Coronavirus, COVID 19, is spreading around the world, causing deaths and major disruption to the global economy.

Responding to this crisis requires global cooperation among governments, international organizations and the business community, which is at the centre of the World Economic Forums mission as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.

The Forum has created the COVID Action Platform, a global platform to convene the business community for collective action, protect peoples livelihoods and facilitate business continuity, and mobilize support for the COVID-19 response. The platform is created with the support of the World Health Organization and is open to all businesses and industry groups, as well as other stakeholders, aiming to integrate and inform joint action.

As an organization, the Forum has a track record of supporting efforts to contain epidemics. In 2017, at our Annual Meeting, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched bringing together experts from government, business, health, academia and civil society to accelerate the development of vaccines. CEPI is currently supporting the race to develop a vaccine against this strand of the coronavirus.

The number one thing is to focus on is employees and customers, Moynihan said on how companies should set priorities and manage the ongoing crisis. When it comes to taking care of employees, he added, the goals should be: keep them well, keep them employed and keep them mentally healthy.

Moynihan also encouraged businesses of all sizes to adopt the Stakeholder Principles endorsed by the World Economic Forum and businesses on 1 April: to keep employees safe; to secure shared business continuity with suppliers and customers; to ensure fair prices for essential supplies for end consumers; to offer full support to governments and society; to maintain the long-term viability of companies for shareholders; and to continue sustainability efforts, including to fight climate change.

Mohammed, meanwhile, said companies should focus on scaling up production, making sure supply chains are alive and reliable, retaining workforce and and engaging young people.

On the need to find a vaccine:

This infection is not going to disappearwithout science leading us to vaccines, we will get second and third waves of this, said Farrar on the long-term destructive damage the coronavirus could wreak on the globe.

Unless we do produce drugs and vaccines we are not going to have an exit strategy, he added.

Similarly, Hoffmann said: There is no solution to this crisis without a properly functioning vaccine.

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All hands should be on deck key quotes from leaders on the fight against COVID-19 - The European Sting

Diplomats in Washington are working overtime to repatriate stranded citizens worried about the accelerating coronavirus pandemic in the United States.

Its frantic, said Gabriel Issa, Lebanons ambassador to the United States. His embassy in Washington, DC, has set up hotlines to collect the names of Lebanese citizens who want to return home, and a skeleton staff is manning the phones.

A lot of times we cant even answer all the phones at the same time, Issa said. We are overloaded but trying to do our best.

Amid tightening restrictions on travel in their home countries and the continued cancellation of flights in the United States, the phone lines at many Middle East embassies in DC are ringing off the hook with expats desperate for the latest information on possible return flights. Staff who are typically assigned to nonconsular services are pitching in, answering calls and facilitating travel.

We see all hands on deck, said Elad Strohmayer, spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in DC. There are people who on a regular basis dont deal with these issues and now theyre helping if needed.

The only remaining direct flight to Israel is operated by United Airlines out of Newark, New Jersey. Strohmayer saidhis embassy is encouraging any Israelis who wish to leave to do so while they still can.

Those from elsewhere in the region are caught in travel limbo with passenger flights to their countries canceled entirely.

Its just endless, the stories, said a Jordanian official not authorized to speak to the media. Some of them you really want to help out, but you dont know how because theyre stuck.

With 364,000 cases of COVID-19 and a death toll exceeding 10,000, the United States surpassed China and Italy to lead the world in coronavirus infections.

New York City, which is home to a number of Middle Eastern immigrant communities, is now the epicenter of the US outbreak with more than 5,400 dead. On Tuesday, New York Gov.Andrew Cuomo announced 731 more patients died in what marked the biggest single-day increase in deaths since the virus emerged in the state last month.

At the Embassy of Oman, the worsening pandemic prompted diplomats to pull an all-nighter last month, staying overnight at the embassy to coordinate returntrips for hundreds of citizens. On March 30 and 31, two government-chartered planes picked up 660 Omanis who wanted to fly back.

Weve been working around the clock, said Qusai al-Mahrouqi, the embassys assistant information attache. It wasnt easy because we have thousands of Omanis all around the United States.

Of particular concern for many embassies are the international students unsure whether to leave the United States in the middle of their schooling. Some students fear they will be unable to return to their schools once travel restrictions are lifted. Others worry they will be penalized if they overstay their visas while waiting out the virus in the United States.

They are panicking and they are calling us every day with the same question: I want to leave, but what about my I-20?, said Hamad al-Muftah, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Qatar in DC.

Muftah said the Qatari Embassy has sent anxiety-ridden students an email reminding them if they want to leave to first check with their sponsor and the overseas office at their universities.

At the Lebanese Embassy, Issa said hes directed his staff to start calling US officials to see what the formal guidance is for students and other travelers whose visas may expire during quarantine.

A spokesperson for USCitizenship and Immigration Services told Al-Monitor it can extend the stay of those impacted by circumstances out of their control, as well as provide special consideration or expedited processing for those who may need it on a case-by-case basis.

Embassies are in the meantime trying to alert all remaining citizens of changes via email, phone and social media. At the Jordanian Embassy, staff have compiled a database with the names of hundreds of students and other travelers who wish to go home.

Diplomats are dealing with issues as they arise, but so much is out of their hands, the Jordanian official said.

We say in Arabic hta esh'ear akhr: until further notice. Its a common thingthats being said.

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'All hands on deck:' Middle East embassies inundated with citizens stranded in US - Al-Monitor